Wodonga’s feature female sale sees prices hit $2610 for joined Angus

The market was judged as solid at Wodonga’s feature female sale on Thursday, with a strong preference for black cattle emerging. Read the full sale report.

Quality was rewarded and so was breed at Wodonga’s feature female sale on Thursday as buyers showed a strong preference for black cattle.

While there was a range in prices for the PTIC Angus heifers, they still sold at up to a $800 premium for the best of each breed.

The sale’s top price of $2610 for joined females, which made up most of the yarding, was paid for a pen of 19 Angus heifers sold by Phillip Tobin, with the two-year-old future breeders due to calve from February 24 for seven weeks.

In contrast, the best pen of PTIC heifers from the Herefords came from a herd dispersal from Wantagong Station at Holbrook, NSW, with the females offered due to the property being sold. Their best pen Herefords, which weighed 609 kilograms and were due to calve in February and March, made just $1690 and sold to a Myrtleford buyer who could not believe his luck in getting them so cheap.

The remainder of the joined Hereford heifers, which weighed 559-575kg liveweight, could only make $1460-$1480.

Alex Craddock, 9, father Daniel Craddock, Corcoran Parker Mansfield, and Tara Craddock, 12, at the Wodonga feature female sale. Mr Craddock bought PTIC Angus heifers and paid up to $2540 for a pen which weighed 585kg, was two years old and Banquet blood.

Wade Ivone from Ivone Agencies at Myrtleford said he bought some of the dispersal as he thought they were good value.

“We don’t have an order for these but surely someone can make money from them,” Mr Ivone said.

Neville Watkins from Charlock Partnership at Charleroi sold PTIC Angus heifers to $2560 at the Wodonga feature female sale.

The feature offering was from Neville Watkins at Charleroi, who has an annual draft of joined Angus heifers each year at the sale.

This year, he offered 196 while his son Adrian offered 100, all sold under the Charlock Partnership trading name.

The heifers had been sourced over the past year from vendors who had been using recognised bloodlines like TeMania, Table Top Angus, Dunoon and Tulagi and ranged in age from two to two-and-a-half years. They were all due to calve in either February and March, and were broken up into each month’s calving.

The best price from the Charlock Partnership draft was $2560 paid for a pen, 17 of which was Dunoon blood, 625kg, two-and-a-half years and due to calve in March.

The whole draft sold in a tight range from $2000-$2540 for the balance of the future breeders. Last year, the draft averaged $3300, Mr Watkins said.

Colleen and Jake Follett, Poowong, with their children Max, 4 and Grace, 1, and Jake's brother Zack Follett, bought 147 Angus breeding females, both joined females and heifers, at the Wodonga feature female sale.

One of the buyers was Jack Follett, who has country at Poowong but also in the NSW centres of Finley and Nyngan.

He and his family bought 125 joined Angus females and 22 cows and calves, paying up to $2540 for the joined females, to restock their Nyngan country.

The sale’s top price of $3110 was paid for the best pen from Tooma Station, Tooma, NSW, with the 21 Angus heifers, Weeran, Landfall and Hazeldean blood, with calves to four months and rejoined selling attracting a lot of bidding. The second pen, again of 21 cow and calf units, made $3150.

Local support was strong, but buyers came from as far as Moss Vale and Moree in NSW, as well as Mansfield, Gippsland and Benalla, while fat buyers were active on older PTIC cows to kill.